The siege of Minas Tirith is imminent. For some, the thrill of impending battle is exhilarating, but for others, despair and dread fill their hearts, their minds numb from the terror of what may lie ahead.

Though none have seen Nazgul within the walls, their presence is felt, the effects heightened by the current tensions throughout the city. Many have fallen prey to depression and heartache, slipping from this life as their will to live is slowly stripped from their souls.

For those who fear they have been exposed to this horror, the leaders of Minas Tirith have cleared out a small area toward the heart of the city in which to house these victims until the crisis passes. Both for the safety of those inside the Ward and those yet unaffected, it is required that all who are suffering from these symptoms report to the Black Breath Ward for containment and care.

As the city prepares to make its stand, the ill and downtrodden are settled in and provided for. The Ward is dismal, but safe. All will be well in time.

~~~~~~~~

Dozens are dead. The Ward has contained most of the casualties, but the number of those inside continues to dwindle as the days pass. Bodies disappear during the night, taken away to be laid to rest, the poor souls at last at peace. This is best, truly. None in the Ward have strength for goodbyes.

Rumors of conspirators within the Ward fill the streets, reaching so far as to alert the patrols outside. Investigations cannot be conducted, however, not without risking even more lives. The city is in shock from yet another attack, this time from within. Who would betray their neighbors in this way?

In mere days, help will arrive, and Minas Tirith will give its all to defend its people from the dark forces which currently threaten them. The clouds that surround the great city will part, and Minas Tirith will rise, as will the spirits of its people. All that remains is to wait, and to hope.

Survive long enough, and you will be spared. Succumb to your despair, and you will perish.

Conspirators – Agents of Sauron, the conspirators entered the Ward to destroy it from within. Their mission is simple: Crush the morale of Minas Tirith, and ensure the city falls before reinforcements arrive.

The conspirators may only converse during Night phases. Each Night, they choose one person (by sending me a PM), to whom they whisper dark thoughts. Once demoralized by the conspirators, a patient lives through the Day, but if not treated, succumbs to their despair during the next Night and dies the following Dawn. (Example: Sally is targeted Night 2. I am notified of this by PM at the start of Day 3, and am dead at the start of Day 4.)

Bard – Though just as susceptible to the Black Breath, the bard wanders the streets, tirelessly spreading good cheer to those in the Ward. Each Night, the bard chooses one person whose morale they will boost. Should the conspirators whisper dark thoughts in this person's ear, they will be ineffective and no change in condition will occur.

The bard can never target themselves and may not cheer the same person twice in a row.

Herbalist – The herbalist is able to reduce the effects of the Black Breath by creating a soothing brew from rare herbs. One leaf of said herb will bring someone back from the brink of despair, returning them to their previous state. Since the Ward is locked, the herbalist's supply is limited, and they are the only one who is capable of administering the herbs.

The herbalist may brew during both Day and Night phase, but their picks must be submitted one hour prior to the deadline in order to be valid. The herbalist is not required to choose a target during each phase. They are allowed to treat themselves, and they may heal the same person as many times in a row as they wish, but they have a finite number of herbs (which will be determined by the final size of the village) and can only assist one person per phase.

Note: If the herbalist treats someone on the same Night they are targeted by the conspirators, the herbs have no effect, as the person is not officially under the effects until the morning.

Quarantine Patients – Residents of Minas Tirith, they wish only to survive until reinforcements arrive. If demoralized by the conspirators during the Night, a patient will be informed at the start of the Day (via private message) that they are in danger of succumbing to the Black Breath.

Coroner (optional role) – Accustomed to death and disease, the coroner is a particularly curious quarantine patient. Should they run across a corpse before it is disposed of, they are able to tell the cause of death. Each Night, the coroner sends a name; if that person has expired during the Night phase, the coroner is able to tell if their target was a victim of the Black Breath or if they were dispatched by the guards.

The coroner may only send a pick during the Night phase, and is not required to send a pick each Night if they don't want to do so. Rather than receiving a PM with this information, the manner of death (election by the Ward representative or victim of the Black Breath) will be disclosed in that Dawn's narration.

Note: The coroner's ability only functions on someone who is about to expire. If the coroner checks on someone on the same Night they were targeted by the conspirators, no information will be imparted.

Additional Note: I am considering the possibility of letting the coroner decide/change their alignment, hence the idea of making their findings public knowledge. I encourage feedback on all aspects of this role, and will detail it further in the event we have enough players.

~~~~~~~~

Unlike most games of Werewolf, each Day phase will consist of a vote not to eliminate a resident, but to choose someone to deliver the nightly report to the guards at the Ward gates.

The representative informs me (by private message) of one person they wish to have removed from the Ward. During the Night, the target will be dispatched; like with those who succumb to the Black Breath, no body will be left as evidence, leaving no indication of whether the person was a conspirator or a victim.

~~~~~~~~

The conspirators win under two conditions:
1. Their numbers are greater than the other inhabitants of the Ward. (They must outnumber the villagers, not just have an equal number.)
2. They eliminate both the bard and the herbalist, and at least one of them is still in the Ward when reinforcements arrive.

The Ward is evacuated safely under two conditions:
1. All conspirators are eliminated before reinforcements arrive.
2. Either the bard or the herbalist is still alive when reinforcements arrive, and the population of innocent souls in the Ward either outnumbers or equals that of the conspirators.

~~~~~~~~

This game relies heavily on the unknown. Speculation and hints are encouraged, but no one may reveal as a particular role, regardless of the validity of their claim. Anyone who reveals their role or any other privileged information will be modfired; again, this is regardless of whether or not they are telling the truth. (Those elected as Ward spokesperson may share their choice with the group, though they are not required to be truthful about their target or their reasoning.)

Votes have to be highlighted (use the tag [highlight*]vote[/highlight*] without the asterisks) in order to count. Any votes not submitted by the deadline (i.e. those with a time stamp of XX:01 or later) will not be counted, but will also not count toward absenteeism. Votes are not retractable.

Failure to vote for two consecutive days without any notice or reasoning will result in severe Sally disappointment (and also modfire).

In order to minimize risk of the curse spreading, only one of you can report to the guards at a time. In the event of a tie, the guards will not receive their report in time and there will be no elimination.

All picks must be submitted one hour prior to deadline. I can provide my FB/e-mail to all necessary parties in case my PM box gets full.

The deadline is negotiable, but will likely be around 5pm Central (11pm GMT).

This game relies heavily on the unknown. Speculation and hints are encouraged, but no one may reveal as a particular role, regardless of the validity of their claim. Anyone who reveals their role or any other privileged information will be modfired; again, this is regardless of whether or not they are telling the truth. (Those elected as Ward spokesperson may share their choice with the group, though they are not required to be truthful about their target or their reasoning.)

Does that include people who know they have been afflicted by the Black Breath?

Quote:

The deadline is negotiable, but will likely be around 5pm Central (11pm GMT).

I would encourage that time to be later...like at least two hours later.

__________________
...finding a path that cannot be found, walking a road that cannot be seen, climbing a ladder that was never placed, or reading a paragraph that has no...

Am sorry to say that I cannot join, but sounds like a thrilling game! I will follow along as much as I can.

Quote:

Originally Posted by satansaloser2005

It does not. Anyone can claim to have been targeted at any time.

But wouldn't that just give the "goodies" a loophole? The targeted people can freely announce that they were targeted, and the gifteds can just keep saving them. Seems a bit hard for the baddies to get around.

__________________What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?

But wouldn't that just give the "goodies" a loophole? The targeted people can freely announce that they were targeted, and the gifteds can just keep saving them. Seems a bit hard for the baddies to get around.

Unless the baddies...tell lies.

__________________
...finding a path that cannot be found, walking a road that cannot be seen, climbing a ladder that was never placed, or reading a paragraph that has no...

But wouldn't that just give the "goodies" a loophole? The targeted people can freely announce that they were targeted, and the gifteds can just keep saving them. Seems a bit hard for the baddies to get around.

Once a person has been demoralized, the only person who can save them is the herbalist, and as the herbalist has limited uses on his or her gift, folks are still going to die.

I've sent a message to a load of people on FB, so hopefully our ranks will fill quickly! That said, I do want to wait until Kuru is able to play if possible, so ideally we'll start around the first of June.

So, if this is getting revived *glances at a corpse in the corner of the barrow, then waves hand dismissively* I mean if the game happens, I wouldn't mind joining in. It's been quite a while.

__________________"But it is not your own Shire," said Gildor. "Others dwelt here before hobbits were; and others will dwell here again when hobbits are no more. The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out."

Now, really, what is to be done? Do you lot think we should try recruiting from some of the other sub-forums? There are several posters in the "Books" and "Movies" sections whom it would be a real pleasure to l̶y̶n̶c̶h̶ introduce to the game.

Dead. I mean, alive, probably. But great to see you again, too, Nerwen

Quote:

Now, really, what is to be done? Do you lot think we should try recruiting from some of the other sub-forums? There are several posters in the "Books" and "Movies" sections whom it would be a real pleasure to l̶y̶n̶c̶h̶ introduce to the game.

If anyone is recruitable, that would be nice! Otherwise, we have been also thinking about doing a bit of a recruiting campaign via other channels (and of course some Nogrods etc can be reached quite easily by us). So let's get to it and hope to get some nice amount of folk...

__________________"But it is not your own Shire," said Gildor. "Others dwelt here before hobbits were; and others will dwell here again when hobbits are no more. The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out."

*According to it, I'm the twisted authority figure in the horror movie - or the werewolf game: "They aren’t the actual killer but they’re nonetheless shot in the name of justice by a vigilante ISTJ who’s had enough."

Ha, mine was "The INTJ isn’t the actual killer but they’re the person everyone suspects to be the killer from the get-go. They’re murdered in an anxious fit by the ESFP, who spends the rest of the movie crying into the INFJ’s arms over their misguided crime of passion."

Ha, mine was "The INTJ isn’t the actual killer but they’re the person everyone suspects to be the killer from the get-go. They’re murdered in an anxious fit by the ESFP, who spends the rest of the movie crying into the INFJ’s arms over their misguided crime of passion."